Three Coal Lifters Buried Alive in Raniganj Mine Collapse, BJP MLA Alleges Police Delay in Rescue

At an Eastern Coalfields Limited opencast mine in Raniganj, West Burdwan, three suspected coal lifters were buried alive on Wednesday at around 3 p.m. after a sizable section of the coal roof collapsed on them. The site is unprotected.

On Thursday morning, three men's bodies were found. They have not yet been identified. A few more people are feared to be imprisoned.

More than a hundred locals, primarily women, allegedly went to the unfenced open cast mine (OCP) at Narayankuri in the confines of the Raniganj police station on Wednesday afternoon in order to steal coal.

"Abruptly, a sizable portion of the coal roof fell over them. While several of them were able to escape without harm, it is believed that seven or eight others are still stuck. As of as now, three bodies have been found," a local remarked.

For an autopsy, the Asansol District Hospital has received all of the bodies.

According to sources, coal smugglers, who supposedly hired "labourers" to steal coal, put down the incident for hours with the help of the local police until Bansa Gopal Chowdhury, a former Asansol MP and leader of the CPM, brought it to the attention of the district administration and ECL officials.

"I contacted the district magistrate immediately after coming to know about the incident and urged them to start rescue operations," Chowdhury stated.

Agnimitra Paul, a local BJP MLA, raced to the scene, blocked NH2, and demanded that rescue efforts begin right away.

"Even though I kept asking the local police and administration to begin the rescue effort right away, it wasn't until 12 hours after the disaster that it did. They made an effort to quiet the issue. Paul stated that seven people had already perished and that "many lives could have been saved if the police had been prompt."

Rescue activities are being carried out by ECL disaster management personnel and state government teams.

Ahead of the general election of the following year, the BJP MLA further claimed that coal smuggling in the West Burdwan coal belt was barely recovering with Trinamul's assistance.

Paul also gheraoed the Raniganj police station for two hours on Thursday morning. "Trinamul wants money power to rig polls and so they have started backing coal smugglers and the state police are hand in glove with them," Paul said.

V. Sivadasan, the convener of Trinamul district, denied that his party was involved in coal smuggling.

He went on to say that the Center was in charge of coal mine security.

Leader of the CPM Chowdhury claimed he has warned the administration and ECL about the danger of an accident like this on several occasions.

"I told them to guard to area properly so that no one could get access to the coal mines," he stated.

A team from the Center's directorate-general of mines safety (DGMS) arrived on Thursday morning to assess the situation following the incident's public disclosure.

"We have spoken with a few locals and recorded the location on camera. At this time, nothing else can be stated," a DGMS representative stated.

The retrieved bodies were sent for a post-mortem, according to the police, who also stated that investigations had begun.

Sonawane Kuldip Suresh, the deputy commissioner of police (central), stated, "We have started investigations into the incident and the rescue operations are still ongoing."

But Suresh denied the accusations made by the BJP MLA against the police.